Impossible
by SawManiac211
Summary: 'Shuffle Chp. 2' spin-off: To most, Aria House is just another impossible teenager; an orphan with no-one to care for her. But when the mysterious Mark Hoffman takes her in, Aria starts to wonder: what is he up to? And why is she so important to him...?
1. The Stranger

**First off: I apologise for not updating/starting anything for ages; one reason is writer's block and the other is a 'parody competition' which I have been working on...**

**For some reason I kept on looking back at chapter two of Shuffle and thinking 'I could probably make something out of that' and as my writer's block got worse the idea has developed to a stage where I had to either write it down or continue waiting for ideas for other FanFictions whilst watching Mock the Week and nurturing my farm on Farmville...yes, I'm that sad.**

**So apologies to JinxStar – who I originally said could write the spin-off to 'Young Forever' in Shuffle – and let's get on with it (disclaimers not necessary).**

xXx

_Voices._

_They were more like echoes really, roaring above her head, too loud, making her flinch. The noises rippled above her head merging together. One was solemn, tired, slightly pleading, official. She wasn't scared of that voice; that voice was kind and the arms were warm and gentle._

_And suddenly they were gone and she was being held by something as stiff and cold as a wooden board. She stared up at a face above her, everything blurred apart from brilliant blue eyes that glared down at her like a snake's._

_And a voice, deep and emotionless like the freezing ocean intoned, _"_I'm sorry, you've got it wrong. _I'm _not the father."_

_As scary as she found the second voice she felt an inexplicable connection with it and realised that if she let this stranger go everything would fall to pieces and it would be too late. Struggling weakly as she was handed back to arms that now felt too comforting to be true – ready to whisk her away – she opened her mouth to scream, but all that came out was a whimper as she was carried away from the man who may just be her only family –_

Aria's eyes snapped open just as her steel alarm clock shrieked in her ear, coaxing a migraine out of hiding. She slammed her hand down on it and the tinny chiming stopped short. Sighing, she turned back over and –

"ARIA, GET UP!" A banging on the door – no, multiple bangs on the door – made her groan.

"Go away!" A motherly-looking woman bustled into the room, screams and shouts and thuds from the other occupants of the orphanage on the morning routines cut off when the door shut behind her. "Oi, don't come in!"

"Now, now, dear," Sue Collins clicked her tongue and whisked the covers off the teenager cured up in a foetal position under the covers in old black t-shirt and panties. "You've got to go to school."

"School sucks, now piss off and leave me alone." Sue sighed. Aria was by far the most difficult in all her time of caring for children, and she worried for her: if she didn't learn to look after herself, then who knows what could happen to her? Sue wasn't a parent but she reverently hoped that someone out there would see something good in Aria and take her in – although so far hope was slim.

"Aria," She said reproachfully. "Don't use that kind of language. And don't you want to see your friends?"

Aria snorted. If only she knew: the group of girls she'd thought had been her 'friends' had been bitching behind her back and she hadn't talked to them after the mayhem of what was now known as 'The Spaghetti Massacre'. Who cares if her lunch just 'happened' to go over Kerry Matthews's head as she'd just 'tripped' as she walked by their table? Not her. Not even in the half-hour detention afterwards.

Sue shook her head and walked out. "Well, Aria: school or no outings on Saturday, it's your choice."

"Oh, what a decision." Aria muttered as the door banged shut again. No-one ever wanted to go shopping or watch a film down at the cinema with _her_: she was just the freaky one with no friends and no family to boot. But she dragged herself out of bed and went through the normal routine of monopolising the bathroom and arguing with Liz over who had used up her best kohl eyeliner and pouring milk over Susan's head because of her spiteful comments aimed at her dress sense: black leather skirt, fluorescent thigh-highs, combat boots, black waistcoat and grey shirt with a male and female penguin on it with the faded slogan 'Melt hearts, not icebergs'.

"You're certainly not melting anyone's hearts today, Aria." Sue shook her head sadly as lead a sobbing Susan out of the 'dining room' to be mopped up.

"Are you in trouble again, 'Ria?" Xing-Yu looked up from her toast, butter staining her mouth as yellow as the t-shirt she was wearing. She was only five and couldn't pronounce Aria's name very well, but she adored her and toddled after her like a worshipper after her deity.

Aria smiled and sat in front of her, peeling a satsuma and double checking her eyeliner and thick mascara. "You've got it in one, kiddo."

"You won't get banned from Saturday outings, will you?" Xing-Yu asked blinking anxiously. "'Cos you promised you'd take me to see a movie."

Aria bit into a tiny segment, careful not to smudge her black lipstick, and ruffled Xing-Yu's tightly braided hair. "Don't worry kid, I won't let that happen. We're gonna have a good time on Saturday, don't think I've forgotten." She had. "So, how did you get those yellow beads in your hair?"

"Well, Daisy said..."

She let Xing-Yu's happy chatter flow over her head like a burbling river, like the voices in her dream last night. She frowned slightly as she finished one part of her satsuma and started on a second. It had seemed so real, almost as if it had not been a dream but a memory...

"'Ria!" A little daisy-patterned trainer kicked her hard in the shins and Aria was brought sharply back to the present and a pouting Xing-Yu. "You didn't listen!"

"Yes I did, Buttercup wanted to make you into her namesake didn't she?"

Xing-Yu nodded, abashed. "I'm sorry 'Ria, I didn't mean to get cross."

"That's ok kid."

"You won't pour milk over me like what you did to Sarah will you?"

Aria laughed. "Of course not!" She saw the time and yelped. "Kid, I've gotta run – catch you later!"

"Bye-bye 'Ria!" Aria was out the door and had snatched her school bag – covered in customary badges much under-appreciated by her school – barely before the words were out of the little girl's mouth, and she didn't even see her wave goodbye through the window. She sprinted down the path and jumped on the waiting school bus just before the doors swung closed.

"Way to leave it 'till late, House." The driver remarked sarcastically as he pulled away. Aria gave him a hard look before making her way up the bus to find her seat. Whispers and sniggers followed her, and when she reached her seat she found it taken by none other than Kerry Matthews. The girl in question – who had, in the last few days, dyed her usually brunette hair a brilliant crimson and was wearing the sluttiest outfit ever invented – looked up from her conversation with her best friend Jezebel and favoured her with a scornful smirk.

"Move." Aria told her.

"Sorry, seat's taken." Kerry said sweetly.

"This isn't your bus."

"Oh, it isn't?"

"You've taken my seat."

"I have?" Kerry eyes widened in mock horror, a hand pressed comically to her blood red lips. "Oh no, what shall we do? Never mind, you can always walk: it'll help burn some of those rolls you've put on."

Aria didn't so much as blink as Jezebel dissolved into pig-like snorts of laughter quite unattractive for a blond floozy of her age. She was well used to bitchy comments such as this and she wasn't hardcore for show: she had a hard core inside as well, and she wasn't going to let Kerry get to her, not now.

"Move, bitch, or I'll make you."

"How?" Kerry's mouth curved in a mocking smile. "Are you going to make me drop dead just like your mother?"

She didn't realise she'd slapped Kerry until the crack rang out and the bus went very quiet. Kerry raised a hand dramatically to her face.

"Do that again," She whispered. "I dare you." Aria did, with a vague satisfaction this time at seeing Kerry's head roll back over the chair. She wanted to knock it right off, but then Kerry was out of her chair and onto her, her hands buried in her hair. The bus braked and they rolled down the aisle, cheers and boos coming from either side as they fought. Aria knelt on Kerry's ribcage and scrabbled at her eyes, but then she was hoisted off her and pushed through the open doors of the bus, landing with a bump on the kerb.

"_I will not tolerate that kind of behaviour on this bus!_" The driver screamed down at her. "You can walk it!"

Ignoring the jeering faces pressed against the glass as the bus roared off, Aria stood up and started to make her way down to the school. She couldn't stick Kerry Matthews: just because her dad was a prime detective in the police department she thought it gave her the right to swank around like she owned the place and bitch about who she liked. Aria's sentiments were in the minority though; Kerry was nominated for everything from president of the school council to the lead of the new drama production. Aria liked to think that it was mainly due to shady deals and a hell of a lot of fixing on other opponents: just like her dad Eric, but, if possible, even better.

Arriving at school late, as per usual, Aria was screamed at by the teacher at the late desk, then frogmarched to the headmaster's office and screamed at some more for the 'incident' on the bus. "I don't know what to do with you, Aria." He finished helplessly, sinking down behind his desk. He waited for her to say something but Aria said nothing, her coal black eyes practically smouldering a hole through his shirt. Shaking his head sadly, he stood again and opened the door. "Stay out of trouble." He called after her feebly, before sighing and going back into his office.

The rest of the day went uneventfully – and monotonously – by. Aria sat on her own in lessons, at lunch, not even bothering to socialise. No-one here particularly cared; they'd given up on her a long time ago, both teachers and students, and she's done the same. She hummed along to the songs on her iPod, tapping out the rhythm, lost in music.

That was what kept her together: music. It was something that soothed and comforted, that could understand her and care – something that nothing else could do, no living thing at least. When she was on her own, she filled her lungs and sang to the melody, letting go of everything else. She could never do that in front of anyone – they'd just laugh, she was sure of that. But sometimes she'd watch the stupid reality TV shows like _The X Factor_ along with all the other children on a Saturday evening and just think, 'I could do better than that, I know I could.'

She had a detention after school for not doing some bit of homework or other and she watched everyone else board the buses in torrents, then streams, then just a small trickle out of the school doors, rain dripping in time to the drumbeat filling her ears with wonderful, glorious noise, shutting out the real world. When the teacher tapped her on the shoulder to tell her she could go, Aria nearly jumped out of her skin. Walking home was slow and tedious, with no umbrella to shield her. But then again, it had never been a home – she'd been dumped there in the end, with nowhere to go, and certainly no-one to care about her. Kerry's gloating eyes floated in front of her and she shivered: they suddenly seemed like the same cold blue eyes from her dream, but that was impossible – they weren't as calculating and (now she thought about it) cruel. Pushing the thoughts to the back of her mind, she fitted her key in the lock – all the older ones got a key so they could get in and out, the smaller ones were chaperoned by Sue and the other helpers – and stepped inside. She hadn't even dumped her soaked bag down on the floor before Liz wobbled into the hall on her too-high high heels.

"Sue wants to see you," She smirked unpleasantly, teetering in the doorway. "Dear oh dear, Aria House, what have you done now?"

"Never you mind." Aria spat. She hated it when people used her last name, and right now she was livid enough without Liz taking the piss. _The head must have called to tell her about Kerry,_ she thought bitterly, knocking on Sue's office door. _Great._

"Aria? Come in dear!" Sue called cheerfully. "I thought I heard you come in.

Aria thought it was odd that Sue sounded so cheerful if she'd had a phone call telling her that Aria had started yet another fight – oh no, this wasn't the first! – but she knew from experience that appearances were deceiving. She went in, steeling herself for a tirade – and stopped dead.

Sue wasn't alone. There was a young-ish man with dark brown hair and a suit sitting in a chair on the other side of Sue's desk, looking at her with interest.

A man with icy blue eyes.

**Sorry for lack of Saw-ness in the chapter – hoping you can guess who the man is! 'Aria' is a name, but here it's an acronym for my name and the three other people who have helped me most through my year-and-a-bit of FanFiction writing: Ricky, Izzy and Allana. Love all of you guys – this proves it! Next chapter coming soon!**


	2. The Proposal

"Ah, Aria sweetie." For once in her life, Aria didn't object to being called something as stupid as 'sweetie'. She kept on staring at the stranger sitting – or rather, sitting whilst slouching slightly – in front of Sue as she rambled on, staring right back at her. His full lips curved into what was clearly meant to be a friendly smile but it didn't meet his eyes: they were assessing her, emotionless and evaluating. She shrank a little inside but held her ground and looked right into the blue. The look changed and she was surprised to see a flicker of an unexpected emotion in his eyes: respect, or something close to that.

Sue stopped short, realising that no-one was listening to her. "Oh, umm...Aria, this is Mark Hoffman. Mark – may I call you Mark? – this is Aria."

"Nice to meet you Aria. And no Mrs Collins, Mark's fine." Hoffman reached out to shake Aria's hand, which she looked at like he'd just offered a jellyfish instead. Sue gave her a fierce look, but Hoffman just laughed and withdrew, the smile reaching his eyes.

"Who are you laughing at?" Aria snapped, ignoring Sue's desperate _"Aria!"_

Hoffman raised his hands, laughter in his tone. "Hey, easy kid. Didn't mean to offend you."

Aria narrowed her eyes at him, but sensed he was telling the truth. "Fine."

Sue forced a wide, happy-happy smile. "Ah good, everyone's getting along swimmingly. I'll go and make the...uh...tea or coffee?" She asked Hoffman.

"Coffee's fine thanks." He replied, not taking his eyes off Aria. Sue looked uncomfortable.

"Right...I'll go and...make it then." She left.

"Bit odd, isn't she?" Aria was shocked and Hoffman laughed. "Come on, 'Getting Along Swimmingly'? You seriously weren't thinking how weird that was?" He leaned back in the chair and raised his eyebrows at Aria's gawking expression. "Aren't you going to sit down?"

Aria made her way slowly across the room and sat down next to him. He smiled at her and she felt her mouth twitch in response. She was starting to warm to this guy, but something about him made her hold back; better to wait till she was absolutely certain there was no hidden motive.

"I'm guessing it's been raining." Hoffman said ironically, nodding over to the small puddle of rainwater where Aria had been. "Didn't you have a coat or anything?"

"No. It was fine this morning." Aria looked at him hard. "Why are you here?"

"You like to cut to the chase, don't you?" Hoffman chuckled. "I'm interested in adopting you. I know it's a bit short-notice, but I saw an ad in the papers and – "

Aria flinched. "God, please tell me it wasn't the one with the bunny ears." She'd been a school play as a rabbit in primary school and Sue had somehow got a picture and put it in an ad, trying to make her seem cuter than she actually was. It still didn't work; no-one wanted her even then."

Hoffman nodded. "I think so. Loved the pink leotard by the way."

Aria sensed he was making fun of her. "I'm not here to be made fun of."

"I know."

"Stop being so patronising!

"Sure."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "Well now you've met me – the real me, that is, not that crappy photograph – so what do you think now?" Aria scanned his face. "Are you going to piss off like the others or not?"

Hoffman met her gaze levelly. "I think – that you will be a challenge."

"Good or bad?"

"Depends on how you want to interpret it." Aria stared; as far as she could make out he was being 100% genuine about this. She bit her lip. No-one had really treated her like a proper adult before: they'd never told her the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, just the dumbed-down version of things. They had never even told her much about her past, except that her mum – Katherine – had died giving birth to her and they'd never found the father. Yet now this Mark Hoffman bloke was treating her questions seriously and seemed to actually want to help her: it was too much too soon: too good to be true.

"Look, this may seem too good to be true," Aria jumped; it was like he'd read her mind. "But I'm serious about this. I can help you, if you let me." Hoffman held out a hand. "Shake?"

Aria hesitated, then took his hand. They shook once, then let go. A second later, Sue poked her head round the door. "I'm sorry, I forgot to ask: black or white?"

Hoffman seemed to have forgotten about the coffee, because he looked blank for a second before answering her. "Uh, black thanks. No sugar."

"Alrighty then." Sue's head disappeared, and Hoffman turned to Aria.

"I bet you that bitch was listening outside the door the whole damn time."

Aria laughed. "You're probably right.

xXx

_A Few Weeks Later..._

"Are you absolutely sure you've got everything?"

"Yes, Sue." Aria tapped her foot, impatient to be gone. She'd already said her goodbyes to Xing-Yu, promising to visit when she had time, and wanted nothing more than to get the hell out of the hellhole she'd spent fifteen years of her life in. And now Sue wanted to create a goddamn scene.

"And please try to be nice to Mark; he's a really nice person."

Aria snorted; if only she knew. "I will, Sue. Now can I go?"

Sue sniffed. "I can't believe it: my little Aria, grown up and ready to venture into the real world."

_And away from you, you dumbass._ Aria hugged Sue. "Laters." She called behind her as she picked up her bags and slammed out of the orphanage for the last time.

Hoffman was waiting in his plain black car, fingers tapping at the steering wheel. He got out when Aria approached and helped her get her bags in the boot, before getting back in and starting up the engine as Aria sat in the passenger seat behind him.

"I'm hoping I don't have to remind you about the seatbelt?" He asked, checking the wing mirror for oncoming traffic.

"How old do I look dipshit?" Aria returned cheerfully, buckling in. Hoffman chuckled and pulled away from the kerb, quickly leaving the orphanage behind them.

"She keep you long?" He asked.

Aria shrugged. "Meh, not very. Getting all teary eyed though – that was such an act. I knew she really couldn't wait to get shot of me."

"I'm sure that's not true," Hoffman kept his eyes on the road. "You're a very people person."

Aria narrowed her eyes. She'd been around him now long enough to know when he was making fun of her and when he was being serious. The adoption process had taken ages and initially she'd been keen to get shot of the place, but right now she suddenly wasn't so sure.

"You going into work tonight?" She broke the silence, which – although not unpleasant – irritated her, which was probably why he was doing it.

"No; boss gave me a day off. Said it was for 'getting you settled'."

Aria noticed him smirking. "What's so funny about that?"

"First off, he's never met you; I think you can take care of yourself." She had to agree with this, as when she had been staying round for weekends Hoffman had sometimes been kept behind at work and came back very late. She didn't mind though; she knew how to cook – unlike Hoffman whose cooking expertise ended with toast and heating ready meals – and besides, she saw him as more of a friend than a parent figure. "And secondly, it's ironic because I never got any time off after..." He trailed off. Aria winced; he'd briefly mentioned his sister Angelina before, but that was an area of his life they'd skirted around carefully, and she could totally understand why."

"So, where do you work?" She changed the subject. He looked at her oddly before cracking up laughing. "What now?" She snapped, getting annoyed.

Hoffman stopped but Aria could see from the streetlights as they passed by that he was still laughing inside. "You never thought about asking me this before?"

"No, it slipped my mind." Aria said coldly. "Come on then, where do you work?"

"I'm a cop."

Aria exploded. "You what?" She punched him on the shoulder. "Turn this car around!"

"Hey, assault is a criminal offence you know!" He joked, then gave her a quick look. "And why exactly do you want to go back to Ms. Getting Along Swimmingly?"

Aria would've laughed at that in a different situation, but she stared sulkily out the window. "Sue paid you to take me in so you could keep an eye on me, didn't she?"

This time Hoffman laughed so hard he almost crashed the car. "Are you serious, you're that paranoid?"

"Maybe." She mumbled, unwilling to admit defeat. Hoffman sighed.

"Listen Aria, I 'took you in' because you seem to be a genuinely interesting person and I'd like to get to know you better. And also, how exactly am I meant to keep an eye on you? I'd need a whole CCTV system and several agents to keep track of where you are!"

"At least you've figured that out, I guess."

"You really are a stubborn bitch, aren't you?"

"Yep. And now you're stuck with me."

Hoffman groaned. "God no."

"Day in, day out, twenty-four seven." Aria smiled sweetly. "Isn't this going to be fun?"

"That's what I'm hoping..."

They pulled up outside the block of flats where Hoffman lived and got out. After checking for mail Hoffman headed for the stairwell while Aria waited for a lift. She pressed the floor button and rolled her eyes as it began to ascend. What a wimp; at first she'd thought he had extreme claustrophobia, but if he did he wouldn't be driving a car, which was the equivalent to a small box of coloured metal on wheels. The doors pinged open and Aria lugged her bags out, making her way down the corridor to Hoffman's flat. He was waiting for her and held the door open for her.

"Could've helped me." She muttered, dragging her bags down the hall.

"You were taking the lift." He reminded her, then fished about in his jacket pocket until he found a key and threw it to her. "You might need this."

Aria dropped one of her bags to catch it. "What's it for?"

"For getting into my car." Hoffman caught Aria delighted expression. "Sarcasm, idiot. It's for getting in and out: if I'm late – " A snort. "Ok, _when _I'm late home, you're going to have to look after yourself for a while."

Aria looked round at the flat: beige carpet, plain walls. A small kitchen was situated near the living room which contained a dark blue sofa, TV and a table and chairs – only two she noticed. Apart from a bookcase with a picture of Angelina on top there were no other pictures or decorations. The hallway she knew led to a bathroom, Hoffman's room and her own room, which was as boxlike as the rest of the flat. And now this was her home. Bizarrely Aria found herself liking it, despite the fact it was nothing like her dreams.

"Thank you." She said happily, throwing her arms round his waist. Hoffman awkwardly hugged her back.

"You have some massive mood swings, you know." He commented.

Aria quickly let him go. "And what's that supposed to mean."

Hoffman shook his head, smiling. "You see what I mean?" He walked into the kitchen and opened a cupboard. "So, Aria Hoffman, what do you want for dinner?"

"So I'm a Hoffman now? It's official?"

Hoffman rolled his eyes. "Please don't complain about it; I happen to like it, seeing as it's part of my name."

"Ah well, it's better than 'house'." Aria raised an eyebrow at him. "Anyway, aren't you forgetting something?"

Hoffman looked at her blankly. "What?"

"You can't cook."

Hoffman blinked, then closed the cupboard door and picked up the phone. "Pizza alright with you?"

"Perfect." She grinned, then picked up her things and made her way down the hall to her room – first door on the right. She opened it and grinned. The carpet and walls were the same dull colours as the rest of the flat, but Hoffman had blue-tacked up some posters of her favourite bands and put a red chandelier-type shade over the hanging bulb. He'd also gotten her a desk and chair for homework and –

"Holy crap!" Aria breathed. On the desk was an iDock – complete with iPod – and a laptop. It was quite an old model, but when Aria switched it on it booted up quickly with the power full and internet browser already set up. Aria switched it off and started to put her stuff in the small wardrobe and drawers that were available, stuffing what wouldn't fit under the bed.

When she heard the doorbell she waited a minute and then came out and went into the living room again. Hoffman looked up from the sofa and grinned. "Like your presents."

"How did you afford that stuff? Did you steal it or something?"

"Laptop I got second-hand, iDock was half price and iPod came from Ebay – plus I just got a bonus. I'll survive." He patted the sofa next to him and Aria joined him, grabbing a slice of pepperoni and extra cheese. "So, X-Factor?"

"Totally," Aria took a bite. "This time, Wagner's going _down._"

"Really? I'm putting a bet on Katie going out this time..."

They spent the whole evening flicking through the channels, eating pizza and making jokes at the contestant's – and judges' – expense. Much, much later Hoffman yawned and checked his watch. "Shit, I've got to get to work early tomorrow. Better get to bed." She protested but Hoffman reached over and turned off the TV. "No buts, bed. Now." Aria moaned and stood up, making her way to her bedroom.

"'Night Hoffman." She yawned widely.

"'Night Aria." The bedroom door closed behind him.

A few minutes later Aria was in bed, staring up at the bare white ceiling. The yellow streetlight filtered through the curtains, a bare tree's branches looking like twisted hands snatching at the sky as the wind blew through them. A siren sounded somewhere far away. A dog barked. She'd been so used to her secluded environment that now everything seemed too loud, too disturbing. Too new. Aria turned over onto her side and closed her eyes against the hands. She'd get used to it; if she wanted to stay here, she'd have to.

**I have no idea how long the adoption process takes, so sorry if that's not correct. Starting to wish I had Hoffman as MY dad...**


	3. The Girl

The door creaked open and Aria buried her head under the covers. "Sue, leave me _alone_."

"Aria, up. Now." Someone flicked the bottom of her feet and Aria remembered: she was lived with Hoffman now. She turned onto her front in protest. Hoffman sighed and whipped the covers off her, and when that had no effect he grabbed her legs and pulled her out of the bed, letting her fall unceremoniously to the floor.

"Ow!" Aria rubbed her head from where she had banged it and squinted up at him as he pulled open the curtains, letting sunlight stream directly into her eyes. "Are you mental or something?"

"Got it in one." Hoffman turned to leave. "Up, washed and dressed in ten minutes."

"What? I need longer than that!"

"Oh I forgot, you're a girl...quarter of an hour then."

"I hate you!" Aria threw her pillow at the back of his head. He ducked it and disappeared from view. Groggily, she started getting ready for school, annoyed that Hoffman had used up all the hot water and she had no time to straighten her hair.

"There are two people in this house you know." She said sourly as she rooted through a cupboard for cereal.

Hoffman looked up from his paper. "Yeah, I can count you know. And technically this is a flat, not a house." He reminded her, smirking slightly as he took a sip from his coffee.

"You used up all the hot water!"

"You should get up earlier!"

"Well you shouldn't have let me stay up late last night then."

"You didn't seem fussed."

"That's not the point – "

"When do you want to go to bed then, eight?"

"IT'S NOT FUNNY."

"I wasn't laughing."

Aria hissed at his smug expression. "I hate you."

Hoffman didn't look fussed. "Twice within an hour, for you that's got to be a record."

"I hate – "

"Three times, you're on a roll this morning!"

Furious, Aria gave up her search for food and stormed back to her room while Hoffman calmly returned to his paper. He was used to her outbursts by now and he'd realised in time it was much better to let her wear herself out than follow her – it was actually more entertaining that way too.

Five minutes later she was back, her hair now straightened and slightly less mad. It was only a ten minute walk to school, so it meant she could leave later, which – she realised – meant that Hoffman had decided to give her a lie-in, or something like that. "And why aren't you at work, mister?"

"Day off." A text came through on his phone. Hoffman checked the message and scowled. "Apparently not...God I _hate_ that man."

"Who?" Aria asked, swinging her school bag over one shoulder. "Your boss?"

"Uh, yeah, who else would it be?" Hoffman suddenly looked uneasy and Aria rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. See you later!" Aria walked out and plugged her headphones into her new iPod, turning up the volume as loud as it would go and humming along to the tune."

"_Pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and bury them beneath the sea, I don't care what the people may say, what the people may say about me."_

"What, about your singing?" Aria blinked, pulled her headphones out and – now outside – turned round.

"What're you trying to say?"

The strange girl in leather boots and long red coat laughed delightedly. "Ah, we've got a tough one here!" She said between chews of her gum, before sticking her hand out. "You must be a new one; I'm Sheena. And I'm not making fun of you, you've got a pretty good voice if I do say so myself."

Aria eyed her warily. "You think?"

Sheena laughed, tossing her heavily braided hair back so that the multicoloured beads clacked together like some kind of bizarre wind chime. "Hell yeah!" She started sashaying along in time to a beat in her head. _"Footsteps in a dark room, reminds me baby of you!"_ She had a gorgeous, deep voice; almost exceeding the tones of the original singer.

Aria grinned and joined her. _"Teardrops in my eyes, the next time I'll be true yeah."_

They carried on like this almost past halfway to Aria's school. Aria didn't ask why Sheena was walking with her, but she didn't mind: here was someone who was almost exactly like her, belting out tunes with a wink and a wave at frowning passers-by.

"So, what was your name again?" Sheena asked after their last song had finished at the school gates were looming.

"Aria." Aria said cockily. "Remember that name, bitch."

"Hey, I ain't anyone's bitch, bitch!" Sheena pushed her. "So where're you from?"

"Pennbrook Orphanage." Aria said grimly. Sheena's amber eyes widened.

"Oh, no!" She moaned, hand held theatrically to her heart. "Poor little orphan Aria, all alone in the world..." Aria laughed and shoved her. "So who adopted you?"

"Mark Hoffman." Sheena stopped dead and doubled over, shoulders shaking. "What?"

Sheena lifted her head and laughed – a big, belly laugh that was frustratingly infectious. "Hoffman? That old sucker? Man, you're in for a hard time!"

"Hey, he's not that bad!"

"Ah well, believe what you want," Sheena leaned in conspiratorially. "But I've heard from my mate Jack that he got beaten up in a lift by some fifty-year-old man!"

Aria laughed in disbelief. "He never! Where did you hear this?"

"It's true, I swear on my life: Jack don't lie, and he ain't one to make up rumours or pass any on for that matter!"

Aria cocked an eyebrow. "Oh really? Who is this Jack?"

Sheena tapped the side of her snub nose. "You'll know soon enough, I'll introduce you. Anyways, I've gotta motor in here now," She jerked her thumb at the school gates. "So – "

"Oh, I go here too." Sheena's jaw dropped.

"You never!"

Aria nodded. Sheena took her by the shoulder. "Well, you can show me around then! Me and my boys only just joined here after a – ahem – 'unpleasant' episode at our old school. By boys I mean Jack and his friend btw."

Aria frowned as they walked through the gates arm-in-arm. "What episode?"

"We kinda almost but not really burnt the school down." Sheena held her hands up in the air as Aria's jaw dropped. "Hey, we never meant to, it's just one thing led to another...anyway, your foster dad got called in to sort us out. Jack kinda pissed him off."

"Why?"

"He can't get into trouble with the cops, his dad's in the feds and I'm telling you he pulls so many strings he's like a freaking puppet master. That's how we all got off with community service for sixty hours – been there, done that, got the crappy t-shirt."

"Oh really," Aria thought for a minute. "So who is this guy – and don't say Eric Matthews, 'cos his daughter's a bitch."

Sheena shook her head. "Na, not old Eric; he's going to get done one of these days anyway."

"So who is it then?"

"Jack's dad?" Sheena winked. "Not heard of him then? Hoffman and he don't get on that well."

"Sheena, who IS he?"

"Geez, don't get stress with me girl; I'm your new friend! And as for his name, it's Strahm. Peter Strahm."

**I wasn't going to leave it there but it seems like a really good cliff-hanger...and we all know who the 'fifty-year-old-man' was don't we boys and girls? *wink wink* So, Aria's going to meet the group in the next chapter – including Jack Strahm...**


	4. The Gang

"English – boring, Maths – confusing, Chemistry – no explosions, and French – a load of words some spastic came up in their spare time." Sheena slammed her locker door shut. "All in all, this day is being a total pisstake."

"Oh come on," Aria laughed, elbowing her in the side. "We've got Biology next; might meet your Edward Cullen."

Sheena rolled her eyes as they merged with the lunchtime traffic of the corridors. "Stephanie Meyer has that so wrong you know, Biology is just so...ick."

"What, bloody and unromantic?"

"Exactly. Unless you're a vampire, in which case the dissections must be like live fucking porn." Someone bumped into her from behind. "Hey, watch where you're going yeah?"

"Try not walking so slowly." Came a sneering, all too familiar voice. Aria and Sheena turned slowly round to see Kerry and her clique, hands on hips. She and Aria had been keeping out of each other's way; she only favoured her with glare which Kerry ignored completely. "So, Sheila..."

"If you're going to say my name, at least say it right." Sheena interrupted her. "It's Sheena."

"Whatever," Kerry waved a perfectly manicured hand, as though remembering names was beneath her. "So, _Sheena_, you're new here aren't you?"

"Go figure." Sheena said coldly. Kerry's hundred-watt smile dimmed a little.

"Well, I really wouldn't hang around with her," Kerry jerked her head in Aria's direction, eyes still fixed predatorily on Sheena's face. "Just a word of advice. She's a bit of a...bad influence, to say the least."

"Total loser." Muttered one of her friends, and they all laughed in shrieking unison. Aria pretended to be looking at her watch, internally devising methods of killing Kerry in the most painful way possible.

"No offence, but I really don't think I need your advice." Sheena squinted at the crown of Kerry's head. "What the..."

Kerry patted her head nervously. "What? What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just...is that spaghetti? I don't think you got it all off last time round..." Sheena turned and walked away with Aria, leaving Kerry steaming in the corridor.

"I'm guessing that was Matthew's pride and joy, right?" Sheena asked later in the crowded cafeteria.

"Got it in one," Aria said bitterly, stabbing at a piece of rubbery chicken from the day's menu. "I hate her so much."

Sheena nodded sympathetically. "I know the feeling." She took a bite of her baguette – then her eyes widened and she started waving her arms above her head like a swimmer drowning. "Mmm! Mmm mmm! MMM!"

"Sheena, are you ok, or do you need more medication?"

Sheena swallowed. "Stop making jokes and get Candyfloss and Co. over here!"

It wasn't difficult to see who she was talking about. A boy with bright blue eyes, full-body denim and shocking white hair was walking towards them, grinning maniacally. The hair had been gelled into massive spikes that stuck out all over his head, but somehow looked fuzzy around the edges, exactly like candyfloss. It was his companion though that caught Aria's eye. He moved silently beside his friend, hands in pockets, a faint smile on his lips. One of his eyes was so dark it was almost black; his other eye could have been any colour, as his other eye was obscured by his thick black hair. He met her eyes and the smile widened a little. She quickly looked away.

"Hey hey Sheena," The guy with white hair said cheerfully, dumping his tray next to Sheena and hopping onto the chair. "Long time no see!"

"Since yesterday, you mean!" Sheena ducked a spike. "And what's with the hair? You trying to take someone's eye out?"

"Hey, it's a fashion statement!"

Sheena rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Anyway, this is Aria Hoffman; she's my soul singing sister."

White-Head choked. "Hoffman? HOFFMAN? Oh, don't make me laugh!"

"Save it Zac, she knows. Aria, may I introduce Zachariah Zep, preferably known as Zac Zep."

"Zep?" Aria snorted. "What kind of name is that?"

Some of Zac's enthusiasm left him. "I'd get you to ask my dad, but he's missing, probably dead for all we know."

"I wish I could say the same for mine." The dark guy muttered.

"Always the happy one aren't you?" Zac shook his head. "Aria, this is Jack Strahm; your average teenage psycho."

"Zac's exaggerating," Jack winked. "Trust me, I don't bite." He looked amused and Aria looked away, flushing when she realised she'd been staring.

"So, how did you end up with Hoffman?" Zac said with a mouthful of cake; he seemed to have perked up a bit, although Sheena was now getting soggy crumbs in the face whenever he opened his mouth.

"Pennbrook orphanage," Sasha shoved him in the side. "Don't talk whilst eating; you're getting it in my hair!"

"Oh, sorry," Zac swallowed. "You don't like carrot cake do you?"

"Not when you're eating it..."

"So, Aria Hoffman," Jack said over Zac and Sheena's bickering. "I'm guessing Sheena's told you why we have a problem with your new foster-parent."

"Sort of...did he really get beaten up by a fifty-year-old man?"

Jack smirked. "Yep. And before you ask how we know, we – ahem – 'found' the keys to the CCTV room."

Aria raised her eyebrows. "Really? Well with that and burning your school down – "

"Correction, it was just the Science block." Jack stared into the distance. "Ah, good times..."

"Why did you do it?" Aria asked. Jack rolled his eyes.

"Oh please, don't tell me Hoffman's set you up to this? He kept asking that too."

"Didn't like my answers though," Jack had to raise his voice over the escalating argument. "I think 'up yours' was one of my less-imaginative ones."

Aria laughed. "Seriously though, why did you do it?"

"My Chemistry teacher – also form tutor – really pissed me off...he said some things to me that I didn't like."

"Like what?"

"He said if my mum could see me now, she'd be really disappointed at what I've turned out like." An awkward silence fell and Aria suddenly couldn't look him in the eyes.

"That's it, I'm through!" Sheena snatched up her bag and stalked out of the lunch hall. "Find me when you're finished being such a jerk!"

"All that over a carrot cake?" Zac shook his head. "Man, she's getting worse and worse."

"Never mind that Zac, you're losing your touch," Jack shook his head mournfully. "'Your Mum'? What kind of insult is that?"

"But you used it on Hoffman."

"Yes, and that doesn't count 'cos that actually had an impact." Jack chuckled. The sound was clearly forced and Aria bit her bottom lip; she hadn't meant to hurt him. Zac had clearly picked up on this and gave Aria a questioning look – which quickly turned to pure hatred, barely concealed. She was about to defend herself, when she heard the clack of heels behind her.

"Hey Jack." Kerry giggled, twirling a strand of red hair between her fingers.

"Kerry." Jack twisted round to look up at her. She grinned and planted her lips over his. Aria choked and Kerry broke the kiss sharply and snapped her head round to look at her. "What's _she_ doing here?"

"My friend brought her. She left." The tone was right, but the sentences were robotic. She couldn't see Jack's face.

"Well, do you mind if we can have a little privacy?" Kerry smiled sweetly at Aria and Zac. "It's nothing personal, but we'd like to be left alone. In our own company. If you don't mind." She seemed to have ironically forgotten her little group gathered behind her.

"Sure," Zac cleared his throat. "I'll see you in class Jack. Jack?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. See you." Zac pushed away from the table and stood, face thunderous.

"Coming Aria?"

"Yeah, give me a sec." She bent down to get her bag, when a little gold compact clattered down next to it.

"Whoops! Silly me." Kerry leaned over so that she was face to face with Aria. "Keep away from my boyfriend, you slut, or else." She hissed. Aria flinched and glanced up at Jack, sure he'd just heard the exchange. His head was turned away from them, fringe falling softly over his eyes. Quickly she grabbed her bag and went over to where Zac was lounging, shooting murderous glances over at the table.

"Can you believe him?" He spat on the floor. "He lets her crawl all over him like the maggot she is."

Aria glanced back over. Kerry was now sitting in Jack's lap, chatting to her cronies; he might as well have been a decorative cushion. "Point taken. He's going out with her?"

Zac snorted. "Don't we all know it? This has been happening on-off for three years: just after his mum died. She treats him like he means nothing to her, and then dumps him, leaves hanging for as long as she finds his pain amusing, and then begs him to take him back. And guess who has to pick up the pieces each time she does that?" Zac jerked a finger self-righteously at himself. "Me and Sheena, that's who. And he never listens. Don't ever tell him this, but I agree with his Chemistry teacher: if his mum could see him now, she'd break down and cry."

Aria patted him on the back. "You've wanted to get that off your chest for ages, haven't you?"

Zac laughed a little. "You could say that again."

"So if you disagree with him, why did you and Aria help him set fire to the school and, just now, didn't just tell Kerry to get lost?"

Zac looked at her tiredly. "He's my friend Aria, that's what Hoffman and that lot don't get. That's what friends do." He turned to leave. "Coming?"

"Sure." Aria looked over her shoulder at the table. Kerry laughed at something a muscley jock had just said and, turning to Jack, led a kiss that he eagerly reciprocated. It was like he was scrabbling at any attention she gave him. It was the saddest thing Aria had ever seen.

xXx

"Oi, Aria!" Aria jerked her head round as Sheena waved at the crazily. "You coming to meet the others?"

"But I already have!"

"You haven't met everyone, come on!"

Aria sighed and let the door to her flats swing shut. It was getting dark and she knew she had homework to be getting on with, but hanging out with Sheena, Zac and Jack had been brilliant. Especially with Jack...she shook her head as she grudgingly followed Sheena into the car park area. _Off limits remember? Shame._

"Hey guys! Look who's back!" Sheena hollered in the direction of a rusty red mini.

"Hey Aria!" Zac whooped as he handed Sheena a beer can. "Drinks are on the house tonight."

"Thanks." Aria took her can after hesitating briefly; she knew Hoffman was a strict teetotaller and she wasn't sure how he would react to her underage drinking. _It's just one can,_ she told herself, taking a sip. _Just one._

Jack was leaning against the other side of the car, staring moodily at the graffiti covered concrete wall and smashed-up children's playground. She stepped over an empty beer crate and touched his elbow. "Hey...you ok?"

Jack looked round at her and smiled after looking blank for a couple of seconds. "Yeah, I'm fine." He crumpled his empty beer can and blew a lungful of air up at the bleak night sky.

"You know, my old carer Sue used breathe out on a cold night like tonight and call it dragon's breath for the little kids." Aria said to break the silence, feeling foolish.

Jack laughed, and it didn't seem forced. "Seriously? You didn't really swallow that crap did you?"

Aria shrugged. "I used to, found out it was fake pretty quickly though. There's nothing truly magical left anymore."

Jack turned to her and wrapped her hands up in his. Aria tried to ignore the tingling in her palms and stared down at them; her bare cold hands, turning blue, and his warm ones, wrapped in black fingerless gloves. "There's always something magical just waiting round the corner, Aria," He whispered. "You just need to find the strength to take it for yourself." Aria wanted to agree, but the cold had frozen up her lungs and she couldn't get enough air in to breathe, let alone talk. After a while he pulled back. "I owe you an apology for the way I acted at lunch."

Aria had trouble finding the words, an odd ringing in her ears that definitely wasn't because of the alcohol. "It's ok, I really shouldn't have asked you such personal questions anyway – we'd only just met after all."

"It's not just that. Afterwards too." Aria looked up. There were no stars in the sky but Jack's eyes were shining, darker than the heavens, sucking her in. She was suddenly aware of the world around her; the cold stabbed at her in harsh needles, the moisture of the beer can trickled slowly over her hand, Jack's lips twitching slightly...

"Bitches, your top-ups are here!" An unfamiliar voice brought them back to reality. Jack jerked away and sauntered over to a beefy man carrying two six packs of Stella Artoris. A woman with red spiky hair and a black leather jacket eyed Aria up. "So, who's the kid?"

Sheena rushed to explain. "This Aria, she's living with Hoffman."

"Hoffman?" The woman raised her eyebrows. "The Hoffman we know?"

"Yep, ain't irony a bitch?"

"Very true." The woman switched on a brilliant smile. "Fizz Nightingale, nice to meet you." The smile went out. "How'd you meet Sheena?"

"We met this morning." Aria said dumbly.

"Yes, doing what?"

"Singing."

Fizz roared with laughter. "Another little singing bird, who'd have thought it?" The smile was back: it reminded Aria of Christmas lights, on, off, on, off...

"Certainly not you, _Florence_." Said the beefy man, cracking open a beer.

"You use my real name again, I'll hit you." Fizz growled, then rolled her eyes. "May I introduce my mutual friend Paul? He's a total arsehole, but you get used to it...better than his brother at any rate."

Paul chuckled and gave Jack a wink. "Since my brother's a drug dealer, that's not much of a complement."

"His name's Xavier," Fizz staged whispered in Aria's ear; it smelt like cigarette smoke and booze and made Aria cough. "He's a real badass, but we haven't seen him recently, thank God." She slung an arm round Aria's shoulders, nodding at her half-finished can. "You done with that yet?" Aria quickly knocked it back. Some of it went down the wrong way and she choked. Fizz patted her on the back. "Aww, ickl baby never had any nasty alcohol before?"

"A lot less than your mum had before AA got hold of her, so shut up." Aria mumbled.

Fizz laughed. "I like you kid." She commented before grabbing another can and taking a massive swig. "Go on girls, show us some of your singing."

Sheena launched into a Christina Aguilera number and Aria quickly followed, copying the dance routine as best she could. At the end Fizz applauded. "Nice one. God, Abbie would _love_ you!"

"Who's Abbie?" Aria asked.

"My girlfriend," Fizz shook her head in disbelief at her expression. "Yes I'm a lesbian, get over it." She finished her can and chucked it in the boot of the car. "If it bothers you, the exits in that direction."

"Don't worry, I'm all good," Aria grinned suddenly and leaned against the car, pouting. "How do I look to you?"

Fizz looked her up and down. "You really want to know? Nice legs, shame about the tits." Aria threw an empty beer can at her head. A brief can fight, another singsong and the finishing up of the beer later, Paul checked his watch. "We'd better get going Fizz, it's getting late." Aria checked her watch too. _SHIT!_

"I'm guessing you're going to be in trouble, right?" Jack asked her as Fizz and Paul started squabbling about who was driving.

"You're telling me." Aria groaned, running a hand through her hair. She's stuck to her guns and only had one or two cans, but she wasn't sure how Hoffman was going to react – if at all.

"Don't worry, he won't breathalyse you." Jack joked, tousling her hair. "Cheer up, tonight's been great." His phone vibrated and as he looked at the caller ID his smile faded a little. Kerry. "Excuse me; I've got to take this."

_Why?_ Aria wanted to ask as he walked away.

xXx

Aria let herself in and winced when she saw the living room lights were on. Hoffman was home. He came out to meet her in the hall. "A bit of communication would have been nice." He started.

"Hello to you too." Aria said, dumping her bag. "What's up?"

"Aria, do you know what the time is?"

"Time you got a watch?" He crossed his arms over his chest. "Ok, ok, I stayed out with some friends, that's all."

"Who?"

"Some people from my school."

"Aria, that's not what I asked."

"Look, you come home late so don't have a go at me."

"That's not the point!" Hoffman sighed at her stubborn expression. "Fine, don't tell me; I'll find out sooner or later. And use your phone next time!"

"Whatever." She brushed past him and went into her room. Hoffman watched her go and then took out his phone and hit a key.

"This is harder than I thought," He muttered as he raised it to his ear. "It had better be worth it..."

**Sorry again for not updating for ages...Merry Christmas anyway, and I'll try to publish another chapter of this before 2011. Keep the muffin-loving festive spirit alive!**


	5. The Confrontation

"Eric Matthews has gone missing."

Aria looked up from her cereal, shocked. "Seriously?"

Hoffman nodded, shrugging on his jacket. "Yes; thought you'd better know before you get to school, as you'll probably find out anyway. From what I've heard at work he ran off with the Jigsaw killer to save his son who was in a game – "

"Well that's not bad is it?"

"Let me finish. It turned out the game had been videotaped and his son was in a locked safe the whole time."

"Oh, _shit_." Aria breathed

"Exactly. Means I have to go to work early, may not be back till very late too. You can order out, just don't go overboard on the spending."

"Sure. Oi, idiot!" Aria called after him as he disappeared down the hall. He poked his head round the door as she waved his car keys at him. "You might need these."

"Ah, thanks." He took them and gave her a hug. "See you later, hopefully. And I still want to know where you were last night, and who with."

"Whatever." Aria said with a shrug.

_No chance, _she thought as he left.

xXx

"So, did Hoffman say anything to you last night?" Sheena asked as they approached the school.

Aria shrugged her bag back onto her shoulder. "He wanted to know where I was ET Citra."

"Did you tell him?"

Aria sighed. "No: I don't think he'd react well."

Sheena chuckled. "You got that right, especially since you like Jack."

"Of course I like him, he's a nice guy."

"No, I mean you LIKE like him."

Aria stopped dead. "Excuse me?"

Sheena nudged her. "Don't play dumb, it was totally obvious last night – Fizz said it was so obvious if Jack hadn't been obsessed with that Kelly..."

"Great, and that makes it ok for you to talk about me behind my back?" Aria growled.

"God, stop being a stroppy cow. 'Sides, Fizz likes you – and that's not the point!" Suddenly they both heard upraised voices near the gate and in a blink of an eye there was a crowd gathered in a circle around two tussling figures. Sheena's eyes lit up. "Ooo, fight! This isn't over, you know." She warned Aria as they ran over to see what was going on. Sheena barged a path right through the onlookers, ignoring the protests, and stopped abruptly. "Oh God, not again." She groaned. Peering over her shoulder, Aria took in the scene. Jack and the muscley jock from the day before were scrabbling at each other on the pavement, clawing at each other's throats and throwing mad punches that mainly connected with nothing. Kerry stood over it all, hand pressed to her mouth. She was the picture of innocence – a girl being fought over like a trophy – but the act was paper thin and her pleasure at the attention seeped through into the ugly atmosphere. She caught Aria's eye and smirked slightly. That did it: Aria pushed Sheena out the way and dived into the fight. A fist missed her head by about an inch and she grabbed hold of Jack's jacket and pulled him out of the fight. The jock wasn't too bright: he kept on punching the pavement for a good few seconds before he realised what had happened.

"Huh, what was that for?" He whined at Aria. Kerry was giving her a death stare as the crowd started to melt away, bored.

Jack jerked away. "Leave me alone, Aria." He snapped, scrabbling to his feet. "I can handle this."

"Yeah Aria," Kerry butted in as Aria stood too. "Jack was just sorting something out for me."

"He shouldn't have to," Aria was furious; she couldn't believe Jack's attitude. "Jack, don't you get it? She's using you!"

Jack rounded on her. "Shut up, you don't know anything!" He yelled. The crowd started to regroup again.

"Oh I think I know enough! Kerry is using you to get attention, and even your friends see that!"

"It's true Jack," Sheena said quietly as he looked at her for help. "I know you miss your mum and your dad's not exactly the best, but that's no reason to let her play with your feelings and take your anger out on whoever she wants you to."

"Stay out of this Sheena," He was practically nose to nose with Aria now, his face white with rage. "Kerry's dad's gone missing, you can't say those hurtful things to her."

Aria felt sick. "Then I agree with your teacher: your mum would be ashamed of you." Jack's eyes widened and his hands balled into fists. "What, are you going to hit me now?" For a second she thought he was actually going to do it. A muscle jumped in his neck and he barged past her, power walking towards the school building.

"Why did you do that for?" Kerry spat.

Aria met her gaze levelly. "I told him the truth." She said, and then she walked away with Kerry's eyes boring holes in her back.

Sheena ran to keep up with her. "God Aria, you've really done it now." She muttered as they merged with the traffic of students.

"Good," Aria spat. "Someone needed to tell him that, and besides, Kerry is a bitch, dad or no dad."

Sheena looked uncomfortable. "Yes but...did you have to be so blunt?

"Well...he had it coming." Aria maintained, but inwardly she felt uneasy.

xXx

"Ok, I have one question for you," Zac paused while he swallowed his tuna sandwich. "What did you say to Jack this morning?"

Sheena and Aria glanced at each other nervously, sensing once again that Kerry was glaring at them from across the lunch hall. "It's a long story." Sheena finally said.

Zac threw the foil his sandwich had been in in the bin. "Well whatever it was, he hasn't been in class the whole day. He barged right by me this morning and didn't even say hi." He looked over Aria's shoulder and gave someone a hard stare. "And does Kerry look like she's going to get an AK out of her bag and shoot you with it?"

Aria swallowed. "It's a long story." She mumbled, parroting Sheena's words.

Zac sighed when he realised he wasn't getting anything out of them. "Well, whatever it was, he looked majorly pissed."

"Really." Sheena flinched and stood suddenly. "God, I can't take her fucking STARING at us all the time...for the first time in my life I'm going to the library."

For once Zac didn't have a wisecrack and as soon as she was out of sight he leaned over and grabbed hold of Aria's wrist. "Aria, what did you say?"

Aria squirmed uncomfortably. "Well..."

Zac's eyes widened. "Please tell me you didn't tell him what I said yesterday." When she nodded, he groaned and ran his hands through his hair. Well, he ran one hand up a spike repeatedly. "God, you _idiot_."

"I know," Aria bit her lip. "But I was so mad, he got into a fight for that Kerry – "

"Yeah, I hate that too; it's like he's trying to earn her love, or prove himself, or some shit like that." Zac puffed out his cheeks, hand still working on his hair. "I know he's an idiot – "

"So someone needed to tell him that – if not me, then who else?"

Zac glanced over Aria's shoulder, more in thought than staring at an enraged Kerry Matthews, then leaned over closer so that one spike tapped her forehead. "I know where he might be though; usually likes a quiet place where he can be invisible for a day, best bet is to look there."

Aria raised her eyebrows. "And what makes you think I want to find him?"

Zac rolled his eyes. "Obvious reasons: I don't want _her_ getting there first."

Aria nodded. "Point taken."

As she stood up to leave, Zac craned his head under the table to where she was picking up her bag. "Hey, I said reason_s_, plural."

"I bet you don't know what that means."

"I do...sort of. Anyway, don't you want to know the other reason?"

Aria shook her head. "I can guess." She muttered to thin air.

xXx

She found Jack sitting at the back of the football grounds, feet rested on the black plastic chair in front, hunched forward. She heard the final bell go for the next lesson, but she ignored it; the only way was forward. Aria jammed her hands in her pockets and made her way towards him. He made no indication that he knew of her approach, even when the chair next to him squeaked in protest of her sitting on it. Aria winced: the chairs were trademark of a school – cheap and nasty and uncomfortable. It was almost eerily quiet, the only other spectator a scrawny group of pigeons pecking at an abandoned crust of bread midfield.

"Why are _you_ here?" Aria nearly jumped when he broke the silence. She tried to gauge his expression, but his fringe was once again hanging over his eyes.

"I came to see how you were." She said lightly.

"I think that's pretty fucking obvious, thanks all the same." She flinched at the bitterness of his tone.

"Jack..." She tried to brush his fringe away from his eyes but he swatted her away like an irksome fly.

"Don't!" He turned his head sharply away but Aria had already seen; he'd been crying, the tracks still fresh on his face.

"Jack, I'm sorry," She said quietly, resting a hand on one tensed-up shoulder. "I shouldn't have said that stuff this morning."

Jack snorted. "No, you were right. My mum would hate me."

"That's not true, what I said wasn't true – "

He turned to face her then and wrapped his hands up in hers, his voice earnest. "Aria, it was goddamn true and you know it. Please, don't take it back."

Aria rubbed a thumb against the back of his hand, and it was freezing. "I wouldn't have said it if I knew it was going to make you hate yourself."

Jack laughed, and it was as cold as his hands and cut her down to the quick. "Hate myself? I despised myself way before that." He paused and his head was bowed, as that of a man with a weighted confession to make. "This is going to sound so stupid, but I loved my mum, I seriously did. I think my dad did too, but I really don't know now. Short of it was, she got cancer. Never found out the type, but it was serious, that much I got. The thing I hate most about it is that people tried to shield it from me like I was still a little kid, and there's still so much I don't know." His voice cracked and Aria gave him a few seconds to regain control of himself. "Anyway, she died, obviously. My dad was pretty upset I suppose, but after a few months he suddenly comes back with this slut of a partner on his arm and it felt like I was the only one who still remembered mum. I'd hear them late at night and I just wanted to burst in and just scream at him, 'Hey, remember the last person you fucked? I think it was mum, you still remember her right? Am I the only one who still cares?'" Jack sniffed. "So around that time I met Kerry. She seemed alright at the time, so I asked her out. I never really, you know, loved her or anything, but I was almost about of faith in just about anything so..."

"You were giving love one last chance." Aria said softly.

Jack shrugged. "You make it sound really cheesy and I guess you're right, but that was my logic at the time. As you can see, that failed."

Aria felt like a priest listening to this, and it made her uneasy. "Well, Kerry's a cow; you weren't to know that."

There was a pause. "He insulted her dad, you know." Jack revealed. "He said all the stuff we all knew was true, but I went for him anyway...I don't know why – he's a nice guy really – but I thought that's what boyfriends do."

Aria laughed, and Jack looked confused. "You make it sound like there a textbook for love or something – shit, sorry, I didn't mean – "

But then Jack was laughing too. "It's ok," He shook his head slowly, a smile still tugging at his lips. "God, you must've thought that was so stupid."

"No I don't," Aria paused, treading carefully. "Sometimes when I was little I would wonder why my dad left me, whether it was because I was unlovable. But now I know it wasn't that; it was simply because he was scared of what lay ahead."

"You think I'm scared of love?"

"Yes and no; you're just afraid of letting go."

"It's a possibility." He looked down at their hands still entwined together and then looked up again, saying nothing. Aria looked back.

"What?"

"...Nothing." Clearly a lie. Aria shivered a little under his gaze. "You're cold."

"Not as bad as you, you're freezing." Aria smiled. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders, but he moved just so they were front to front and pulled her in. Instinctively she tucked her head under his chin, then realised what she was doing. "Jack, this isn't a good idea." She tried to push him away.

"Don't move, Aria Hoffman," His words were muffled by her hair. "Right now you're restoring the faith."

Aria stopped moving and the pair stayed like statues, hardly daring to move. She felt his breath warm on the back of her neck, and felt that somehow she wasn't just hugging him, but holding him together as well. Time seemed to move slowly and Aria savoured it, unaware that Jack was doing the same. They remained – undisturbed even by the pigeons – but then the bell for the end of lesson, resounding shrilly across the field, and the pigeons flew away and the two of them stood to go, when all they wanted was to stay.

**Happy New Year everyone!**


	6. The Club

Aria was about to knock on the door when her mobile went off. Delving into her navy coat to find the item, she flipped it open and answered the call, knowing without looking at the caller ID who it was. "Hi Hoffman."

"I've told you, call me Mark!" She heard him chuckle. A phone rang somewhere in the distance and he sighed. "Look, I'm going to be late home again tonight."

Aria rolled her eyes. Ever since Eric Matthews had gone missing – over two weeks ago now – Hoffman had been later and later back home. At one point Aria peeked into his bedroom and found it empty, bed still made – he'd clearly slept at work. "Seriously? You're working all the damn time now; you're tiring yourself out!"

"I'm fine, trust me." She heard him stifle a yawn and resisted the urge to roll her eyes again. "So what are your plans for the evening?"

"Homework's done (a minor white lie on her part) so I'm going out with some friends, you know, just chilling."

There was a pause and Aria winced, knowing what was coming next. "Which friends?"

"Hoffmaaaan, can we not go into this again?"

"Aria, you've been skirting the issue for _weeks_: whenever I try to talk to you about this you always make some kind of excuse and get out of there as fast as you can."

"That's not true!"

"Oh really?" There was a silence and Aria glared at the door in front of her, the paint peeling. "Aria, please just tell me who – "

Aria quickly banged on the door and a few seconds later heard footsteps coming down the hall. "Sorry Hoffman, gotta go."

"_Aria_ – " She snapped the mobile shut, slightly guilty at cutting him off but telling herself it was necessary. The door opened and she blinked against the sudden light. A tall man leaned in the doorway. She was amazed at the similarities between father and the son she knew; both well built with unruly black hair, similar facial structure but different eyes; the man's were lighter and less serious.

"Can I help you?" He asked politely.

"Hi, I'm here to see Jack?" She said tentatively.

Peter Strahm smiled, the laughter lines around his eyes crinkling. "Aria, right? Come in!"

Aria stepped into the hall and as Strahm closed the door behind her went into the sitting room. The flat had a similar layout to Hoffman's, but was more cluttered. Books were cluttered haphazardly around the room and she had to clear a space on the faded blue sofa so that she could sit down.

"Jack! Your friend's here!" Strahm called down the hall.

"_Five more minutes!"_ The response was muffled and followed by the bang of a door shutting. Strahm shook his head and sat next to Aria on the sofa. The silence was awkward and Aria prayed that Jack would be out sooner than 'five minutes'.

"So you're adopted?" Strahm asked abruptly. Aria nodded. "Anyone I know?"

"Probably not." Aria knew that Strahm and Hoffman had a mutual dislike of each other and for that reason wanted to give as little information as possible.

"Ah." Strahm nodded and then leaned towards her. "Before you leave, I just want to say thank you."

Aria was taken aback. "For what?"

"Well, ever since I got together with Perez relationships between all three of us have been...well, a little bit strained. But about two weeks ago he started – perhaps not being friendly – but more civil at least, less arguments. When he started talking about you I just put two and two together."

"Oh, right. Yeah, he talked to me about that." Aria had started feeling a little bit like a counsellor; after the event in the football grounds, Aria and Jack had been skiving unimportant lessons like PE (football was scheduled for next term; right now it was rugby for boys, hockey for girls) and just talked, mainly about Jack's life. She had suggested trying to get on better at home, but she hadn't thought that he would listen – or talk about her for that matter. "So where's Perez tonight?"

"She's on duty right now, so – " Strahm's eyes flickered the doorway and he jumped. "Jesus, how long have you been there?"

Jack smirked. "And you're supposed to be a cop." He was dressed in customary all black, his recently applied purple streak in his fringe matching his converses. Aria stood up and went to join him. "You wearing anything under there?" He grinned.

"Yes!" Aria said indignantly. She'd gone on a shopping spree with Sheena the day before and bought a deep red off-shoulder dress, the material silky against her skin. The hem ended just above her knees, so she'd bought a pair of leggings just to be on the safe side.

"I'm just kidding," Jack laughed, his fringe falling across his eyes. "You look lovely."

"Although I'm regretting these damn heels right now." Aria grumbled. "They're too damn TIGHT!"

"What a shame."

"Stop being so sarcastic."

"I don't know the meaning of the word."

"You jerk!"

"No seriously I don't. Bit of help?"

Strahm coughed. "I thought you were meant to be going out?"

"We're just going!" Jack made his way down the hall and opened the door.

"Back by eleven!" Strahm yelled after them as the door closed. Jack turned to look at her.

"Did you hear what he said?"

Aria's eyes widened innocently. "He said something?"

Jack grinned, his eyes flashing. "Well come on then; we've got a party to go to!"

xXx

"Fizz, are you sure this is going to work?" Aria gulped as she took in the heavy-set bouncer checking the ID of the people in front of them. Even out in the street the music in the club could be clearly heard, even two blocks away. The pavement practically vibrated under their feet.

Sheena laughed at her friend. "Relax Aria, we've done this loads of times! Just try not to look so scared and we're through."

"The key part is the not looking scared part," Zac noted. "As I know far too well..." For the occasion he'd put wash-in wash-out streaks of neon pink in his spikes; it had turned out badly though, so if you didn't look closely you'd think he had raspberry-ripple ice cream for hair.

"Very true, my friend," Jack laughed. "Remember that time the bouncer broke your nose?"

"_Don't_," Zac moaned. "Worst moment of my life..."

The bouncer let the group through and towered menacingly over Fizz. "ID please." Fizz gave Aria a quick wink and handed the bouncer the fake IDs for all five of them she'd knocked up earlier that week. The next few seconds felt like hours as the bouncer looked down suspiciously at the cards and then up at Fizz. Finally he gave a grunt, jerked his head at the door and gave the cards back. They were through.

In Aria's opinion the atmosphere inside the club was hellish and electrifying at the same time. The music assaulted them as soon as they entered, so loud they had to shout to make themselves heard. It was full of people; people reaching for the bar like it was an oasis in a desert, people dancing almost en mass on the dance floor...it was mad and Aria loved it.

"Drinks first?" Paul yelled over the noise, and together they pushed and shoved through the crowd. Ignoring the insults Paul slapped some money down on the table and said something to the bar man, and suddenly a glass was pressed into Aria's hand. Following the group's example she knocked it back; the liquid burnt her throat and she almost gagged – it was nothing like Stella Artoris, _that_ was for sure.

"Fuck that's good!" Fizz screeched in her ear. She got another one and toasted. "To a bloody good evening!"

Aria had no idea how much time had passed. The night seemed to be going in a routine: head to the dance floor, dance with her group, dance with a random guy, pick up a drink at the bar. Lather, rinse, repeat. Feeling a little dizzy she staggered out of a back door, gasping with relief as the cold night air hit her like a fist. It was hot and stuffy in the club and it was a relief to be out here in the emptiness of the alley. She leaned against a wall and tried to remember how many drinks she'd had. Not that many she was sure – four, five? She checked her phone and the screen lit up: three missed calls from Hoffman, eleven thirty-five at night. _Jack's definitely missed his curfew._ She giggled.

"You alright?" Jack asked, shutting the door behind him. Fizz and Paul suddenly crashed out, Paul supporting Fizz who had drunk too much and was giggling hysterically. The two of them watched them stagger round the corner, then Jack turned back to Aria. "Are you ok?"

Aria smiled. "I'm fine, Jack. I just needed a bit of air." She cheered. "Ha! I didn't slur, I KNEW I hadn't drunk that much!"

Jack laughed. "Of course not." The smile suddenly faded and he was staring at her intently, his eyes dark holes in his face.

Aria laughed nervously as he took a step towards her. "Jack, how much have you had?"

"Not that much," Jack took another step and suddenly their faces were very, very close together. "See? Not slurring." He murmured, and then he closed the distance. The feeling of his mouth on hers surprised her and she staggered backwards into the wall. He moved forwards with her so that she was pressed against it, his hands roaming as the kiss became more passionate. He suddenly broke away and Aria became aware of the world around her, her fingers tangled in his hair. Jack grinned roguishly. "More?"

Aria licked her lips. "More." She complied and pulled him in again. However at that moment a resounding crash broke the silence and Jack jumped away.

"Bet you it's Fizz and Paul," He muttered darkly, rounding the corner. "HOLY SHIT!"

Aria sprinted after him and froze. One cloaked figure was bundling an unconscious Fizz into the back of an unmarked van, whilst another was wrestling Paul to the ground. He threw a punch and the figure grunted as it collided with its neck, but pulled out a syringe and pushed the needle into his neck. He went limp and the figure began to bundle him away.

"NO!" Jack moved in low and tackled the figure to the ground. There was a brief struggle but then the figure threw a punch and Jack was thrown backwards, hitting the pavement with a thud. For an instant the figure stepped into a street light and Aria could see its face: a pig mask. The two of them stared at each other – it was almost otherworldly; Aria had an urge to laugh at the strangeness of the situation. Then the figure moved into the car and they drove away with a crunch of gears, and Jack and Aria were left alone.

xXx

The next few minutes passed like a dream, or a nightmare. Aria ran inside to get Sheena to phone the police, and soon bouncers were forcing everyone inside as an 'incident had taken place'. Jack remained outside, staring into space, blood oozing from a cut above his eye where he'd hit the pavement.

Suddenly police were swarming everywhere, asking questions, taking names, addresses...Aria lost Sheena in the crush and she drifted to Jack's side, reaching out for his hand. They remained in this trance-like state until a police woman stood in front of them and the dream state ended.

"Jack?" She asked.

Jack paled. "P...Perez..."

Perez glared at him. "What the HELL are you doing here? You are in a lot of trouble young man."

xXx

"I'm screwed."

"We're both screwed, both of our dads are cops, remember?"

The two of them were sitting on the front steps of the club, blue lights flashing around them. Jack had his head in his hands.

"Do you regret it?" He asked suddenly.

"Regret what?"

"The kiss. Do you regret it?"

Aria smiled despite herself and wrapped an arm round his shoulders. "No...but you do have a girlfriend."

Jack laughed bitterly. "Not much of one."

Aria forced Jack to look at her. "I know we hate Kerry, but she doesn't deserve this."

Jack sighed. "Fine, if this makes you happier..." He groaned. "Here we go..."

Strahm and Hoffman were approaching from opposite directions towards them. They both took in the situation and froze, putting two and two together. Strahm snapped out of it before Hoffman, and Aria winced at the look on his face. _Aww, hell no..._

"Hoffman." Strahm greeted him coldly.

"Strahm." Hoffman returned.

"...Hello." Jack said weakly, then flinched as Aria nudged him to shut up. Too late. The two men turned almost simultaneously to glare at them.

"Jack, you're coming with me. Now." Strahm said with low menace.

"Aria, home. Now." Aria flinched; there was no emotion in the voice and she was terrified of going back with him.

"See you later." She whispered, giving Jack's hand a squeeze.

"Good luck," He squeezed it back as they got up and moved away from each other.

xXx

"You're lucky you got away with a warning."

"I know." Aria stared straight in front of her out the car windscreen, waiting for the storm to break.

Hoffman suddenly hit the steering wheel. "Why didn't you tell me?" He yelled.

"Because I knew you'd react like this!"

"Aria, you just sneaked into a club with fake ID with the worst group of people imaginable – "

"They're not that bad!"

"They set fire to a fucking SCHOOL!"

"You can't make judgements about people just because of their past."

"You were drinking, skiving school – "

"It was only PE – "

"IT WAS ENOUGH!"

They drove in silence for a while, trying not to lose it again with each other. Then Hoffman said, eerily calmly: "You're not to see that boy again."

Aria stared at him in disbelief. "...What?"

"He – they are a bad influence on you Aria, I don't want to see you getting hurt."

"They're not that bad!"

"Ok then let's recap: Sheena and Zac ran out the first sign of trouble, Paul and 'Fizz' were taken by Jigsaw which speaks for itself – "

"You said no-one deserved that!"

"He takes people who don't care for their lives – the alcoholics, the drug addicts, the gamblers. Those are bad people."

"But they don't deserve to die." She whispered.

"That's your opinion."

Aria tried to make out his face in the darkness. "...What?"

"And then there's Jack."

She waited for him to say more. "What, is the only reason you won't let me see him is that he's Strahm's son?"

"It's not just that and you damn know it."

"He's a good person!"

"_He tried to set fire to a school!"_

Aria rubbed her eyes, the situation getting out of hand again. "Why can't you just give him a break?"

"Why, just because you like him?"

"You're twisting this out of proportion!"

"Aria, I'm trying to help you!"

"Well you did a good job of that with your fucking sister didn't you?"

Silence fell in the car. Aria stomach dropped and she felt sick. Hoffman's fingers tightened on the wheel. It started drizzling and he turned the windscreen wipers on, the 'clunk-whoosh' of them moving filling the space between them.

"Hoffman – "

"I'm trying to drive. Don't talk to me."

Aria shifted back in her seat, staring out the window. The coldness of his words stung. She wanted to make things right but there was nothing to do but wait until they got home.

xXx

Aria raced up the stairs, fumbled with her keys and dived into Hoffman's flat, giving up the fight to not cry. The remaining ride home had been unbearable, and she'd got out as soon as she could to get away. She sat down heavily on the sofa and buried her face in her hands.

She was going back. She didn't even have to ask Hoffman to know that she was no longer welcome here. Everything was screwed up and Aria knew it was her fault, and she had no idea how to put it right.

Suddenly she felt a hand between her shoulder blades. She swivelled round and Hoffman was standing there, looking at her with an unreadable expression.

"I'm sorry," She stammered. "I'm so, so sorry, I didn't mean to say that, please don't send me back – "

Before she knew it Hoffman had walked around the sofa and was hugging her so tightly she could barely breathe. She choked on her sobs and he rubbed a hand down her back comfortingly. "I'm sorry I said your friends deserved to die," He said quietly. "They don't. I don't know why I said that."

"Same with me." He leaned back and kissed her forehead.

"I know I could've done more to help her," He lifted her face to look at his. "That's why I need to help you right now."

"You shouldn't feel guilty, I never meant – "

"I know you didn't; I just needed you to know." He paused and a trace of a smile appeared on his face. "He likes you doesn't he?"

"Duh, we're friends!"

"No, I mean _like_ like."

"Hoffmaaaan, don't talk about it like that!"

"You LOVE him!"

"_Hoffmaaaan_!"

He laughed, then nodded. "Ok, let's make a compromise: you can still go out with Jack and the rest, but you're grounded for the next three weeks – no phone calls, nothing – and no more skiving off lessons." He let go of her and held out a hand. "Deal?"

Aria experienced a déjà-vu of the very first time she'd met him and smiled. She shook. "Deal."

Hoffman looked at the time and swore. "Go to bed now, I am NOT having the school ringing me up tomorrow about home life."

"Whatever," She shrugged. "It's not like you keep with that!"

"It's not my fault!"

"Well, if I have to go to bed at sensible hours then so should you! Deal?"

Hoffman groaned. "Deal, now please go to bed!" Aria smirked. She noticed something on his neck and frowned a little. "Something up?"

"Na, I'm fine. See you in the morning!" She went into her room. She shut her eyes and took some deep breaths.

It had been a trick of the light, it had to be.

Because she'd seen what looked like the beginnings of a bruise on the left side of his neck...


	7. The Woman

_Bleep bleep...bleep bleep..._Aria looked nervously over her shoulder, even though Hoffman wasn't even in the flat, and looked at the text: _You coming out tonight with us? _She groaned and after a moment's pause she texted back.

_Sheena you know i cant come out._

She'd barely hit send when another text came through.

_And don't tell me that you're grounded, cos ive heard that shit before : /_

Aria smiled. She'd stayed true to her deal with Hoffman for a little over a week now and in return he'd been coming home at more reasonable times – well, maybe reasonable was pushing a bit far, but at least it wasn't as late as it had used to be.

To be honest though she was almost glad that she was grounded, because Kerry now openly hated her and was clearly seeking for a way to bring her down. Because the day after the incident at the club, Jack had dumped her. Although it felt good to be with Jack, she often felt like a zoo exhibit: people stopped and stared at her when she went by, conversations died away and at one point she heard someone voice the opinion that Kerry was spreading: 'Slag.'

She didn't care, of course – they could believe what they wanted and it wouldn't matter because at least she and Jack now knew exactly where they stood with each other. However the dirty looks and petty comments from Kerry and her friends were getting tiring, so it was almost relaxing to be at home knowing that no-one was staring at her.

_Sorry, kinda made a deal_

The phone juddered sideways over the bed. _Fine stay at home then – we're in pizza express if you wanna meet up_

She frowned. _Why not pizza hut theyre cheaper_

There was a pause this time. _We sorta forgot to pay last time...actually Jacks just said he hasn't brought any money to pay AGAIN so please come we cant afford to run away from another bill : (_

Before Aria could text back she heard the flat door bang open. Quickly she hid the phone under her bed and went into the hall – and stopped short. There was another woman there, hanging off Hoffman's arm, both of them giggling almost childishly. The woman noticed her first and let go of Hoffman like he was carrying the plague. "Oh."

Hoffman looked up and his grin turned into a wince. "Ah. Aria, this is Gemma, Gemma, Aria."

The two of them eyed each other up critically. Aria could see why Hoffman had gone for Gemma; perfect make-up, perfect hair, perfect honey-tone complexion. Plastic. Exactly what she hated. She felt Hoffman sidle past her to the bathroom and nearly stopped him to demand an explanation – why ruin everything now, it had been fine as just the two of them! – but she wasn't in the mood for a confrontation. The door snicked quietly shut behind him and there was an uncomfortable silence.

"So, uh, how long have you been living here?" Gemma asked.

Aria looked at her scornfully. "So he didn't tell you he had a foster daughter?

Gemma flushed and laughed self-consciously. "Yeah...I'm sorry, it's a little bit of a shock; I never thought that he was the type to...well, it serves me right for not asking I guess."

Aria felt a little guilty; she clearly meant well, she wasn't another Kelly. "It's ok...to be honest, it's a bit of a shock to see you too."

"Let me guess – he didn't seem the type."

"I wouldn't say that...you do realise he can't cook right, he can only make coffee?"

"I didn't think he could even do that!"

"I know right! Miracles do happen..."

The two women shared a conspiratorial smile when Hoffman emerged, wiping his hands on his jeans. He looked from one to the other. "...What did I miss?"

"Nothing much," Gemma smiled sweetly. "Just a little chat between girls." She went into the bathroom and left the two of them alone. Hoffman looked across at Aria; the smirk had turned into a glare.

"Ok I'm sorry, I should've let you know – "

"Let me know?" Aria hissed. "Damn right you should've let me know, I looked like a right idiot!"

"C'mon, give Gemma a chance! She's a really nice person, we work really well together – "

"I bet you do..."

"Not like that Aria! I mean at my work, we work well together!"

"Why am I not surprised you met 'at work'? You never seem to be anywhere else – "

"Aria..."

"And you don't strike me as the type to pick any woman up from a bar for a shag...well, not anymore at any rate – "

"_Aria!_"

"What?"

Hoffman looked at her emotionless expression and sighed. "Look, I'm really sorry about this, but I really like Gemma and I think this might work...and I promise you that I'm not about to kick you out of my life for some woman."

Aria looked at him. "And what gave you the impression that I was worrying about that?"

"Nothing, I'm just...letting you know. I really care about you, you know that."

Aria thought for a second and hugged him. "Alright, I'm sorry I overreacted – you're right, Gemma's pretty cool I guess."

Hoffman smiled. "Forgiven?"

Aria pulled away. "Yeah I s'pose, but I am _not _hanging around listening to you two...doing stuff."

Hoffman raised an eyebrow. "Whoever said – "

"Look, I ain't staying here and that's that."

"And what exactly are you going to do? You're grounded, and you have no money."

Aria looked him in the eye. "Hoffman, you give me some money and let me out or I swear to God I _will_ make sure you and Gemma don't get left alone, and then you won't get – "

"Alright, fine!" He growled, snatching his wallet and pulling out a handful of notes. "Jesus, this is the second time I've been blackmailed by someone..."

"Oh yeah, and who blackmailed you first?" The question seemed to throw him, as if he'd forgotten she was there, and then he thrust the handful of notes at her. "Fine, you can go out, but be back by twelve at the very latest ok?"

Her eyes moved to his neck, where the bruise – fading fast – was peeping just over his collar. Something niggled at the back of her mind, but she just nodded and walked away, keeping that particular door closed for now.

xXx

"Man, couldn't you have called us first?" Sheena grumbled good-naturedly, hugging her before sliding sideways to allow her into their booth. It was surprisingly quiet for a Friday night; only a few couples and small groups scattered around the restaurant, the clink of cutlery and murmur of voices the only background noise.

Jack leaned across the table and kissed her. "You look gorgeous even without make-up and a bloody massive zit on your chin." He grinned, breaking the romantic moment.

Aria hit him. "Thanks a lot! I kinda got kicked out for now – Hoffman's got some woman up there."

Zac's eyes widened theatrically. "Dear God, how did he manage it? Jack my good man, I owe you ten quid!"

Jack laughed and grabbed his Coke glass. "So what happened?"

Aria explained the whole situation and finished just as the waitress arrived with their starters.

"Well, that's a shock to the system." Sheena laughed, dipping a doughball delicately into the garlic butter. "Hoffman with a girlfriend...how long d'you feel about this?"

Aria shrugged. "I'm alright with it I guess...I mean, he does seem to care for me, and he's been really kind to me since..." She didn't finish the sentence; it was bad enough just thinking back to the night at the club, but to _talk_ about it...she quickly changed the subject. "Hey, the waitress's made a mistake; there's four doughballs here, not three!"

Zac waved a hand, mouth full of doughball. "No worries, we ordered for you."

"You ordered – " Aria was speechless. "How did you know I was going to come?"

Jack winked. "Sixth sense. Anyway..." Jack paused, and suddenly Aria realised something was wrong. "I'm guessing you've heard about...you know..."

Aria searched his face. "What? Jack, you're scaring me – heard about what?"

Jack bowed his head. "Sheena, you tell her."

Sheena bit her lip. "Aria, Paul and Fizz are dead."

The background noise seemed to cut out, like a radio turned off abruptly. "How?"

"There was a – you know that they smoked?" Aria nodded dumbly. "Well, they were strapped to this...this thing that after a certain time would start pumping tar into their lungs. The only way to get out of it was...to set one of them on fire. It would burn through the wire and deactivate the timer, but...you know, they were like family to each other..."

"So they died." Aria felt sick and pushed the doughballs away from her. The garlic butter suddenly seemed sticky, ready to choke her as soon as she swallowed... "Why didn't he tell me?" She whispered.

Jack took her hand. "Hoffman probably has a lot on his plate right now – I can't believe I'm backing him up right now, but there must be some sort of logical explanation; it must've slipped his mind or – "

"But they were my friends, why didn't he – " Her voice cracked and she grabbed a napkin, wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry."

Sheena hugged her. "Don't worry; we all did the same thing when we found out. We're your friends so you won't be on your own in this, and as you've said before, Hoffman – bastard though he is – clearly cares a lot about you: he wouldn't do this deliberately."

Aria nodded and smiled tightly. "Thanks guys. Really."

Zac waved at the waitress. "Now that we're done with the sentimental scene that every epic story seems to have, anyone for a pizza?"

xXx

It was quiet when Aria entered the flat. She'd kissed Jack goodbye at the foot of the stairs as she didn't want a confrontation if Hoffman was still up, but as he didn't seem to be it seemed like a waste of time. She smiled as she hung up her coat; Jack hadn't needed to walk her home – and she'd said so – but he'd insisted and so they'd walked in companionable silence down the dark streets, holding hands. It was these moments that she treasured, the moments that were showing more and more often; when he wasn't absorbed in everything that had happened to him, but when he was himself.

Walking down the hall she almost skidded on a piece of paper lying in the middle of the carpet. Scowling, Aria snatched it up and read:

_Guessing you'll be back past twelve – grounded for an extra 24 hours starting from when you get in. Hope you enjoyed yourself. H x_

Aria swore and glanced at the clock; 1 AM. The bastard never missed a trick...smiling, she crumpled up the paper and put it in the bin before going to her bedroom to get some sleep and try to think up an argument on why she shouldn't be grounded on a Saturday. Before she reached it however she noticed Hoffman's bedroom door was slightly ajar. Curiosity got the better of her and she peeped cautiously in.

She was still here. What she'd been expecting exactly Aria didn't know but Gemma was still there, curled up under the sheets. Her back was to Hoffman's chest, and he had one arm slung round her waist. She frowned; it wasn't till now that she'd realised how tired he looked all the time until she saw him asleep. She closed the door quietly and went into her room, quickly getting ready for bed and turning out the light.

But sleep wouldn't come easily. The image of the two of them together seemed burned into her retinas, and although she knew it was nothing she felt a sense of loss, of missing out on something. The niggling started up in her head again, like two wires writhing, trying to meet...Aria didn't know when she fell asleep but when she woke up it was getting lighter behind the curtains and Hoffman was standing over her bed. She sat up, pulling the covers unnecessarily over her chest. "Jesus, what's wrong with you?"

Hoffman sat down on the edge of her bed. "Sorry...I had a lot of stuff to think about."

"What kind of stuff?"

"You know...stuff."

Aria squirmed down the bed to him and elbowed him in the side. "C'mon, you can trust me. What stuff?" She paused. "No wait a minute, before we get onto that why didn't you tell me about Fizz and Paul?"

He groaned. "God I'm so sorry, I guess you heard off Jack?" When she nodded he winced. "I'm sorry; I was going to tell you in the morning, I didn't want you to go to bed upset."

Aria smiled sadly; they were right, he did have a reason. "It's ok, promise. Now come on – what stuff?"

Hoffman nodded to himself and was quiet for a minute. "You know the boss I've been complaining about?"

"Yeah?"

"Well, I think he might be...leaving soon, and he wants me to take over his job."

"Seriously?" Aria grinned. "Hoffman, that's great!"

"In what way exactly?"

"Well...don't you get a bonus or something?"

He laughed bitterly. "I wish. Besides, I don't even _want_ it anyway!"

"Then why don't you tell him that?"

"Because I don't have a choice." He paused again. "There's another woman trying to get the job alongside me. In other circumstances I'd've just let her get on with it, but...she just isn't _right _for it."

"For the job?"

"...Yeah. But I'd also say she isn't right in the head as well. And...even if I did leave...I don't think she'd ever leave me – or you – alone."

Aria frowned. "Why me?"

Hoffman rubbed his face. "This was a bad idea..." He muttered, and suddenly he was talking to himself again.

Aria hugged him, deciding that her question could wait for the moment. "It's ok," She murmured. "If it bothers you this much, then just...figure a way out of it."

He rested his head on hers. "Well...I did have one, but I'm not sure whether it's – "

"Do it."

He looked at her, surprised. "Are you sure you know what you're saying?"

Aria nodded. "Yeah. Do it." It suddenly felt like some sort of watershed moment – no going back now. She shivered and didn't know why.

Hoffman kissed her on the forehead, untangled herself from Aria and stood. "You'd better get some sleep – we'll talk about you coming in late in the morning."

"Technically it's morning already." Aria pointed out.

"Yeah well, when we both get up."

"Well, you'd better get back to Gemma before she wakes up."

"Yeah, sure." Hoffman paused at the door and smiled at her. "Thanks."

"What for?"

"Just...thanks." He said softly, then shut the door behind him. Aria lay back and rolled over, but sleep didn't come. Instead the niggling sensation started up again, and this time it wouldn't go away.


End file.
